Yahoo Sport 
Rangers boos are nothing compared to Nigeria fans throwing STONES as Balogun tells a tale of true anger
Leon Balogun was part of a Nigeria squad who had to take cover as their bus was pelted with stones from their OWN supporters. So the veteran Rangers defender won't ever hide from the flak raining down from the stands at Ibrox.
The 36-year-old kept a cool head as punters lost theirs during a fraught second half in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Hearts. Balogun’s experience was crucial as the Jambos threw caution to the wind in search of a leveller which would have left Rangers’ already slim title hopes in tatters having fallen 12 points off the pace ahead of kick off.
Philippe Clement admitted afterwards that anxiety levels had been raised due to his players failing to put the game out of sight. But Balogun insists he has no problem dealing with the expectation levels at Ibrox. Certainly not after his experiences with the Super Eagles.
It was four years ago this month that the 46-times capped defender had come off injured in an AFCON qualifier against Sierra Leone with his side winning 4-1. They eventually drew the game 4-4. And asked if the demands at Ibrox were difficult to handle, Balogun said: "No disrespect to our supporters, but no.
“Playing for the Nigerian national team actually prepared me because believe me or not, they are probably just as demanding. They probably have just as much expectation as our supporters. Let me put one out there. I was at Rangers at the time we played against Sierra Leone. We were winning 4-1. It was good for me as I came off after 60 minutes and we ended the game 4-4.
“On the way back to the hotel some of the security staff said don't sit next to the windows. Some of our players had closed the curtains already and then five minutes into the drive we turned a corner and we heard stones being thrown at our bus by our own fans. So I guess that kind of prepared me. The expectations of Nigeria were always really really high. So I've met something like it before and I think that helped me personally.”
Clement highlighted a nervousness about his players at half time in last week’s League Cup semi final win over Motherwell at Hampden. Again on Sunday evening he said his players made the fans anxious by making the wrong choices in the second half against Hearts.
As one of the senior players in Clement’s squad Balogun knows it’s on him and other leaders to help guide the younger members of the squad cope with the pressure. But he also says it’s on the players themselves to learn how to handle the heat.
Balogun broke through in Germany and had spells with Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Darmstadt 98 and Mainz before moving to the UK with Brighton, Wigan and QPR between two spells at Rangers. And he said: “I think the manager does quite a good job of always making us aware.
“If I think back, well I'm ancient, but 15 or 16 years ago then it's something you need to grow into if you're not used to it. Also with the expectation that is there in terms of having to win every game.
“It's not always easy, but I think overall there's a great effort by the manager and you can only repeat it and there's a time when the player just has to step up and deal with it. Like I said before, it's not always easy. I can't lie, even if it’s a game where we're really far off it, then sometimes you have to really dig in.
“I can only repeat myself, you have to get on with it and change the momentum. You just have to do it and like I said if it takes one player a bit more time than another that's fine. That's why you have someone like me in the squad.
“We have Tav, Jack (Butland), even someone like Nico (Raskin) who really tries to take responsibility and the boys are really all buying into it.
“That's the most important thing and are mistakes going to happen? Yes, I think everybody's going to forgive them as long as you show that you understand what it means to play for this club and that you really dig in and give it your all.”
The win over Hearts cut the gap to leaders Celtic and Aberdeen back to nine points. It was a sixth clean sheet in 11 league games for Clement’s side. But Balogun knows there’s plenty of room for improvement.
He said: “We made it a lot harder than it should have been against Hearts. We had enough moments overall in this game to really take control and have a dominant display. We have been quite wasteful with those moments and we then couldn’t capitalise.
“I thought in the first half actually we were quite good and it felt good on the pitch as well. Second half obviously I don't think we should defend as much as we did in the end.
“You don't want to play a second half like this if you start the game like that. But in the end we still got the win. we've got a clean sheet, which is for defensive player always a good thing. Based on the second half, 100 per cent there are things we can improve.”
